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Legality
| Format | Legality |
| 1v1 Commander | Legal |
| Archenemy | Legal |
| Canadian Highlander | Legal |
| Casual | Legal |
| Commander / EDH | Legal |
| Commander: Rule 0 | Legal |
| Custom | Legal |
| Duel Commander | Legal |
| Highlander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Leviathan | Legal |
| Limited | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Planechase | Legal |
| Premodern | Legal |
| Quest Magic | Legal |
| Vanguard | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
Dwarven Armory
Enchantment
(2), Sacrifice a land: Put a +2/+2 counter on target creature. Play this ability only during any upkeep step.
Caerwyn on How does Bad Moon and …
1 year ago
Bad Moon does not give creatures counters - it has what is called a “static ability” which merely confers +1/+1 to all Black creatures without counters. If it used counters, it would say the word “counter” on the card and be templates differently (it would have to be some kind of triggered ability or replacement effect, not a static ability).
As it does not put counters on the creature, it does not cancel out the -1/-1 counters by infect. The creature will have a static +1/+1 boost but will have a -1/-1 counters on it.
Just as a note, strictly speaking only +1/+1 counters and -1/-1 counters cancel out. Other counters - only found on really old cards, will not cancel out. So a Dwarven Armory’s +2/+2 counters do not cancel either two -1/-1 counters or an Ebon Praetor’s -2/-2 counters. This will probably never come up in an actual game, but is mentioned just to make sure the rules statements are clear.
Caerwyn on Evergreen keywords becomes Skills
4 years ago
To respond to each of your points:
Your first section admits that the decision to classify some keywords as skills, and others as not, would be arbitrary. I challenged you to find a single instance in the 199 pages of the Comprehensive Rules where there is an arbitrary decision being made.
Off the top of my head, I can think of only one possible example Rule 121.3 - the rule that arbitrarily decides +1/+1 counters and -1/-1 counters cancel one another out, but does not allow for the cancellation of other directly-opposite p/t counters. Even saying that is arbitrary is a bit of a stretch--there is only one situation where this near-arbitrary distinction is relevant: Ebon Praetor and Dwarven Armory .
That's why this proposal is a problem--Magic's rules do not allow for arbitrary decisions. Everything has its place, and fits rather snugly into said place.
Your solution, of printing cards with what would effectively be an ability word ("Skill - X" or "Skills - X, Y") seems like an unnecessary addition that merely takes up space on the card.
It seems a bit silly to use "this has never been done before" on a thread where you're proposing "let's do something that has never been done before."
If you're concerned about having things like Graft count for the bonus, an arbitrary distinction within the rules would not be the right answer. Rather, you'd have to do something long-form, such as:
Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 if it has flying. The same is true if it has first strike, double strike, reach, etc.
You could probably do something like "For each keyword ability it has, other than triggered abilities or activated abilities" - though, while that makes sense within the rules, I think it is a tad inelegant for newer players.
I do apologize if I come off a bit harsh, and assure you that no offense is intended. I strongly feel Magic's rules are a work of legislative art due to their lack of ambiguity and arbitrary decisions, so I might get a bit overzealous sometimes!
Caerwyn on -0/-1 and +1/+1 counter on …
4 years ago
Nope - +1/+1 counters and -1/-1 counters only cancel one another out because Rule 704.5q explicitly says they do. In the absence of that rule, they would not.
For example, if Ebon Praetor has a -2/-2 counter on it, and you put a +2/+2 counter on it with Dwarven Armory , it would have both a +2/+2 counter and -2/-2 counter on it because no operation of rule would allow these two unusual counter types to cancel one another out.
Caerwyn on vic
5 years ago
Saw your rules Q&A thread regarding persist and Counters, and had a couple things to add, though, since they were not directly responsive to the question itself, I figured I would post them on your wall.
To add some more card suggestions to what Madcookie listed, Blasting Station serves as both a sacrifice outlet and an infinite win condition alongside persist. Melira, Sylvok Outcast is another method of enabling the combo by preventing the -1/-1 counters from being put onto your creatures. Kitchen Finks and Murderous Redcap are both solid persist creatures. Finks is an all-around solid card--even without a combo assembled, it is a decent blocker for two combats and nets you some life. Redcap can be used alongside any sacrifice outlet for infinite damage.
Also, though it will probably never be relevant to you, you stumbled upon my favourite quirk of Magic's rules. +1/+1 counters and -1/-1 counters only cancel one another out because 121.3 says they do.
No such rule exists for older cards that use different types of counter--so, if you have an Ebon Praetor with a -2/-2 counter on it, and you use Dwarven Armory to place a +2/+2 counter on the Ebon Praetor , there is no rules mechanic that would result in the two opposing counters cancelling one another out. Your Ebon Praetor would simultaneously have a +2/+2 and -2/-2 counter on it.
It's a near-useless fact, but I find it interesting so I had to share!
Caerwyn on Do -1/-1 counters remove +1/+1 …
5 years ago
Interesting rule fact, +1/+1 counters and -1/-1 counters only cancel one another out because Rule 121.3 says they do. Other opposing counters, such as Ebon Praetor's -2/-2 counters and Dwarven Armory's +2/+2 counters will not cancel one another out, and both will remain on the permanent. Likewise, two +1/+1 counters will not cancel out a -2/-2 counter and -1/-1 counters can't can't cancel +2/+2 counters. None of these would interact with Ebon Praetor's +1/+0 counters (it's a pretty strange card).
Cards with unusual counters are both rare and have not been printed for a long time, so it's unlikely relevant to anything you'll ever actually see in a real game.